


Cohabitation Concerns

by sunsetseas77



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Brotp, F/F, Kara freaks out a little, Moving In Together, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetseas77/pseuds/sunsetseas77
Summary: Kara packing up her apartment to move in with Lena. Choices and memories and maybe a little insecurity are slowing things down. Lucy's supportive and also ready for cocktails.





	Cohabitation Concerns

Lena had offered professional help and Kara had insisted she could take care of it herself. Lena’s amusement was apparent in her jokes about the sight of Supergirl making balcony runs while balancing moving boxes and furniture. “Kara, I’m not sure your secret identity is going to survive that kind of activity.”

Kara had studiously ignored her, reserving a truck and a truckload of favors from her friends. That hadn’t saved her from Lena though; the thought of the other tenants watching Kara’s band of milenials loping through the lobby of their exclusive residence hauling her items was almost as amusing to Lena as her mental image of Supergirl as mover.

As Friday morning ticked away, Lucy and Kara were working among still-folded, half-packed, and taped boxes scattered throughout the apartment with the operation slated to go off in less than 24 hours. Both were in T shirts and jeans and Kara’s hair was pulled back; this was an all-day, energy-burning event so being comfortable was key. The window was thrown open and a light breeze provided a cool offset to their sometimes frenzied activity while also letting in the white noise of the city below to mix with Kara’s playlists.

The plan of attack was simple; classify each item as a ‘take’ or a ‘discard’, put it into the appropriate box, and stack in the correct pile, moving through items quickly. Kara’s hope to get a jump on this during the week had been completely eliminated by a glut of Supergirl activity including an unexpected trip to Metropolis to assist Clark and the backlog of Snapper assignments that created.

Lucy was bent over Kara’s art supplies, diligently packing colorful containers and tools into carrying cases and then placing them into moving boxes. Kara wanted all to go with her so no further decision-making needed. Her head jerked up when a crash came from the kitchen.

“Kara?”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“I’m not really worried about you. Your kitchen accessories, though - that’s another story.”

“Luckily, I’m pretty much done with them. I’m not taking many things so most of them are boxed and in the discard pile by the window.” Kara appeared from below the countertop. She was holding a well-worn blue pot.

Lucy stood and moved over to join her, leaning against the counter and nodding her head towards the window, “Does this need to go over there?”

Kara gave a little shrug, a wistful smile on her face. “ I don’t know. Eliza gave this to me when I moved out. We made pierogi in it. It was the first thing I made with her, when I hadn’t been here very long. I really liked working the dough – it took concentration and repetition for me to master that - and experimenting with fillings and putting the two parts together. I could make them savory or sweet so they were something I could make at any time, just to work off the overload of Earth. It was a thing for Eliza and me. It shows its age and I haven’t used it in a while, but…”, she trailed off.

Lucy patted her hand, “It’s not just a possession, it’s a memory.”

Kara nodded and set it down, waving her off, “I’ll take care of it.”

As Lucy walked back over to the art supplies, Kara moved the pot to the side of the counter and ducked back down to the cupboards. When Lucy noticed it a few minutes later she realized the ‘to-be-determined’ classification had appeared.

\---

The sun had captured Kara for longer than she realized. Lucy found her staring out the bank of windows, practically glowing, after she hadn’t seen or heard her for quite a while.

She approached quietly, “Hey.”

“Hey. Sorry.” Pulled out of her reverie, Kara shook her head, looked down at her watch, and winced. “Make that really sorry. I got caught up in here.” She waved a hand vaguely alongside her head. Then she turned slowly away from the window but didn’t stop, ending up spinning once in the fall of rays. “I love the light here,” she paused briefly, “but I couldn’t ask her to move in with me.”

“Why? Security?”

Kara nodded, “I usually stayed at her place. The only reason she could stay here safely without bodyguards was because of who I am and we certainly couldn’t say that or have it scrutinized too closely. So there would be a couple of bodyguards in the vicinity and they were not happy about the setup. We weren’t thrilled either given the logistics. I sneaked her in and out six or seven times before they figured out she was missing early one morning and when they found out where she was there was an uproar because of the perceived risk. Our preferred arrangement wasn’t going to work for any reputable security team. So we stopped doing it. Her place has the essentials to satisfy her personal security team and give us space and privacy.”

She let out a soft sigh, holding her hand out in the air and watching the dust motes move around it, “But I will miss sun beams flooding every room.”

\---

The ‘to-be-determined’ pile grew as the morning slipped into afternoon. Kara was being mostly ineffectual in her packing efforts, pausing to wander over to the same watercolor on the wall a few times over the course of half an hour. She had stared at it for so long when she had found it a couple of months ago; the way the painting was lit prickled something in her deep memory then and she had felt that she couldn’t pass it up; it still drew her. Lucy observed her with a certain supervisory concern, packing office items into a box while Kara meandered through the apartment over and over but kept returning to a point in front of the painting.

Finally, Kara seemed to want to talk about it. “Do you think I should take this? I mean, I don’t know if it will ‘fit’. Oh, I need a color swatch.”

Lucy hands came up with her palms inward and her head tilted in a questioning gesture. “A color swatch? I know I haven’t been at Lena’s recently, but from the few times I was there, I’d say you’re moving into a fairly neutral palette.”

Kara’s voice actually squeaked a little in response, “She said we could paint to make it more ours if we wanted to. But I don’t know what the options would be. What colors would that be...,” she trailed off. Everything about her seemed to waver slightly.

Lucy wasn’t quite sure what was going on and this was reflected in her voice. “Kara, take the painting if you want to. You just need to make decisions to do this. I was here at 8 AM with three dozen doughnuts to help with all of that.”

Kara looked up and her right hand raised, index finger extended. “That’s it! That’s what I need.” She sped to the kitchen with Lucy in pursuit, “Kara, no.”

Lucy’s negative response would have been ineffective but ultimately it was simply too late. The powdered sugar specimen was already demolished with a dusting of white left as evidence on the counter and only a quarter of a crueler remaining in Kara’s hand. Lucy somehow pulled the box away and was met with Kara’s whine “There’s three maple and chocolate bars in there.”

“Kara - focus.”

Kara looked somewhat abashed with her eyes downcast but there was something else still there in her posture and expression, almost uneasiness. Lucy tilted her head at various angles trying to get Kara to meet her gaze, finally succeeding. There. Just a touch of shakiness was apparent in Kara’s gaze.

Lucy realized her supervisor/organizer approach was not what was needed here. She changed her tone, no longer chiding but instead softly inquiring, “Is this you stress eating? And not just because moving is stressful?”

A touch of panic had taken up residence beside the shakiness.

Lucy’s hand reached out and one finger tapped Kara’s temple lightly. “We’ve been doing OK so far but something seems to be slowing you down. So, tell me, what’s going on up here?”

“I’m moving in with Lena Luthor.” Kara’s voice changed pitch mid-sentence and continued at the higher level. “I’m moving in with Lena Luthor. I’ve never done this before. I’m going through things and realizing I don’t know how it’s all going to fit together. How will we fit? What happens if we aren’t getting along? It seems like I’ve giving up my space so where’s my space in that?

Lucy grabbed a flailing hand. “You two exchanged keys over a year ago. You’ve been slowly making progress towards this. Have you two had major issues with invading each other’s space? Has she disrespected your boundaries?”

Kara’s inhaled deeply and seemed to steady herself, “No.”

“Then why do you think she’d do it now? Yes you’ll need to adjust but you two have experience, understanding, respect, and a pretty adorable love on your side. And, reality-check Kara, if space is part of this, you have at least a half a dozen crash pads with supportive friends in this city alone, including,” here Lucy curled the fingers of her right hand into her palm with her thumb pointing back at herself, “612 Langston Place. So maybe put that hypothetical out of your mind for right now. It’s not abnormal to have some jitters. Just ask yourself, do you want to do this?”

“Yes. I want to spend all the quiet evenings and lazy days that I can with her. I want to waste my time and catch up on my sleep and ponder the cosmos with her. But what if it doesn’t work out?” She inhales deeply as she brings her free hand to her brow, “Even scarier sometimes, what if it does?”

Lucy let her hand slide up from Kara’s to rest on her friend’s shoulder. “Then you’ve found something amazing and meaningful. But I think you already know that.”

Before Kara could process further, a knock on the door broke into the conversation. Kara glanced over, mumbling “Speaking of” as she moved to open it.

On the other side was Lena, impeccable as usual in a black suit and blue shirt with her hair in a sophisticated up-do. She breezed into the apartment, kissing Kara on the cheek as she passed her, smiling while Kara closed the door behind her. “Hi, how is everything going?” Lena was carrying two almost bursting bags. “ I stopped at the deli down the street. I figured you two could use some fuel after a morning full of this.”

Kara seemed unable to do anything but smile back at her girlfriend, so Lucy greeted Lena and took a couple of steps forward to take the bags and place them on a clear section of countertop.

Lena watched Lucy’s movements, scanning the apartment and then looking back and forth between the other two women, seeming to sense the residue of their conversation. Her eyebrow moved upwards slightly and she moved her hand to encompass their surroundings. “Is everything going OK here? You know I can clear….”

“No, no, everything’s going great! It’s going really well. We’re doing great. Thanks for bringing lunch!” Kara’s overly enthusiastic and almost frantic response about an activity that the vast majority of sentient beings loathed sent the eyebrow higher.

“You’re sure?” she maintained eye contact for about ten seconds with Kara, who continued to smile while nodding her head, before Lena shifted her eyes to the other person in the room. Lucy’s eyes on Kara were gentle before she met Lena’s gaze with quiet confidence. “Yeah, we’ve got this. Kara is sorting through things and we’re making progress. Pretty common when packing up.”

Kara continued nodding, this time in agreement with Lucy; Lena’s eyebrow relaxed after a few seconds along with shoulders that she didn’t seem to realize had been tensed. “I’ll let the two of you work then. I just wanted to keep you fed. I should get back to the office.” She stepped in to share a quick kiss with Kara and moved to the door, “Good luck.” Kara and Lucy called thanks and goodbyes after her as she left the apartment.

With Lena’s departure, Kara seemed to deflate against a chair but then abruptly straightened. “OK, we need to get back to work.”

Lucy grabbed her phone. “I’m with you as soon as I text James. He was going to try to bring by lunch so I’ll let him know we’re set.” She set her phone down briefly to hoist the two bags, testing their weight. “Or at least that you should be good for maybe another two hours.”

“Does that joke ever get old?”

“No. No it doesn’t.”

“If I’m going to be forced to work _and_ suffer for my caloric intake, I’m doing it with food in hand.” Kara dove into the bags and came away with two sandwiches and a bottle of iced tea, then snuck a maple bar into her stash.

Lucy hunched over her phone, typing out a message before heading to the trunk where Kara kept her bedding and towels. She flipped open the lid. “Anything of sentimental value here? Because otherwise I doubt you’re going to be able to compete with the 1,000-thread count sheets from Italy.”

Kara’s face was perplexed, “How do you know about Lena’s bedding choices?”

Lucy wore a teasing expression, “A covert operative never reveals a source.”

“You can stop.”

\---

Just as they were finishing up with the trunk and Lucy had popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth (Kara had already gone through four), Kara’s phone rang with Lena’s name displayed.

Kara answered, her voice upbeat, “Hi, Lena. Don’t worry, we’re doing fine.”

Lena’s voice came over the line, her tone the one Kara had only heard Lena use with her, “Hi, love, I’m sure you are. I know you have a lot going on today. I just had to call and say again that I’ve been looking forward to tomorrow since we made this decision. Having you with me, having a place that is our place means so much to me.”

Kara was quick to agree, “To me too.”

Lena continued. “Good. And if I didn’t say it before, when I say you, that means all of you. Everything that is important to you. And whatever changes you’re interested in as we’re settling in, I want to talk about them. I want you to be comfortable. I want you to be happy with this.”

Listening to her, Kara felt the mix of uncertainty and insecurity that had been unexpectedly nipping at her all day, the feelings that she hadn’t really been able to explain, start fall away. “I am happy, truly. Are you?”

“Kara, I can’t remember ever being happier in my life.”

“I needed to hear that today. Thank you.”

“I believe I should be thanking you given what you're doing. I have to get back to a meeting but call if you need anything. And I’ll see you and your helper tonight for drinks.”

“Yes, drinks, if we finish in time.”

Lucy tuned in at the mention of drinks and her shout rose from behind Kara, “Oh we’re finishing in time. We’re finishing by happy hour.”

A contained chuckle came over the line. “It seems you two have your work cut out for you. If you meet that schedule, you’ll be waiting for me to get there.”

“I have super speed I can use, you know. And I just have to make sure I only give her tasks at the five and a half foot and under level,” Kara said in a hushed voice, glancing back to see if Lucy was paying attention. When she saw no response she turned back, “I love you.”

“I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”

Kara hung up and turned fully, this time finding Lucy staring nonchalantly out the window while she packed books into a crate.

“What the…,” Lucy exclaimed as a wad of packing paper whisked right past her face. “What was that for?”

“James, huh?”

Lucy continued to pack books, pausing in her task only long enough for a brief, puzzled look over her shoulder. “I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean. Now back to work. You’re going to owe me at least three Moscow mules by happy hour.”

Kara grinned. “IOU: Three Moscow mules and the ride home you’ll need after them. And thank you.” She walked over to wall, taking the watercolor off and placing it in with the ‘take’ items and then moved to the to-be-determined pile and started to sort it into ‘take’ and ‘discard’.

**Author's Note:**

> Kara was a lot more flustered and cute when I started this and then it got more introspective.
> 
> Lena Luthor has security. I know it’s not something that a TV show is going to show much or at all. But given her fictional net worth, she’s not walking around her fictional world without security (at least not in this story) and her life choices are impacted by it. My thinking on this affects about 200 words.


End file.
